Richmond Foods strengthened its board yesterday as it prepares to take on Europe.

The ice cream maker, based near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, gave its strongest hint yet that it will buy a factory in mainland Europe in the coming months.

Financial director Andy Finneran said: "We have been looking at lots of companies and are getting further down the road.

"We are fairly confident we can do in Europe what we have done in the UK."

The group, which makes Nestl ices, including Smarties and Kit Kat, began 15 years ago. It now has a 34 per cent share of the domestic retail market, slightly ahead of main rival Walls.

In a Stock Exchange announcement yesterday, Richmond revealed it had appointed Brian Buchan as non-executive director.

The 52-year-old has a European background. He spent four years as chief executive of SSL International, and is also a former regional vice-president of Procter and Gamble's operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Richmond, which has made no secret of its plans to expand on the Contintent, has also appointed Ibrahim Najafi, 47, as chief operating officer.

In the past five years as its operations director, he has played a key role in improving efficiency and integrating five UK acquisitions into the business. Mr Finneran said: "We are getting our eggs in a row before we go in, and part of that is finding the right acquisitions.

"Ibrahim has been a star in helping us become more efficient, and we will be using him when we find what we are looking for."

He said the next few months would be spent ensuring the strategy was right before Richmond proceeded.

The company, which also sells own-brand products, recently posted pre-tax profits of £1.86m for the half-year ending in March.

It employs about 950 people at three UK sites, at Leeming Bar, which is Europe's largest ice cream factory, at Crossgates, near Leeds, and at Wigan.

Anthony Platts, of stockbroker Wise Speke, said: "Although Richmond has a good board, in terms of international experience, they were probably a little bit lacking.

"Brian Buchan can bring to the party his experience of running what is, effectively, an international company.

"This could mean they are poised for the big push into Europe."

Ross Warburton, chairman, said: "We warmly welcome both Brian and Ibrahim to the board.

"They bring a wealth of skills and experience which will strengthen our senior team as Richmond continues its strategic development."